Formation of items from fiber-containing materials, such as thermoplastic materials having elongated fibers and/or stretched broken fibers, can present challenges in that if the material is not tensioned properly during formation of the item (which may involve imposition of relatively high temperatures and/or pressures) the fibers could tend to move, or “swim,” which could potentially compromise the properties of the item, such as the strength and/or mechanical properties of the item. Thus, tensioning is desired to facilitate fiber alignment in the material during the forming process.
More specifically, during the formation process, the material, such as in the case of a thermoplastic material, may become viscous and flow, and may actually flow from a molding configuration, such as a die or press, which could consequently starve the item of the needed amount of material and/or cause an imbalance in the desired ratio of the material to the fibers for a particular application. The subsequent removal and/or cleanup of such material after it flows and perhaps sets may cause an increase in manufacturing time and costs and may negatively impact production efficiencies in forming an item.
Therefore, it may be desirable to have systems and methods that take into account the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.